Jambalaya

For us, the best jambalaya brings together tender chicken, spicy sausage, vegetables, rice and tomato sauce to make a hearty meal. We tried four jambalayas from area restaurants. Here are the results. BEST BITE >>>Clarence's Taste of New Orleans 2131 Old Edgewood Road, Edgewood -- 410-612-0700 Hours --11 a.m.-11 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays; 4 p.m.-midnight Saturdays; 4 p.m.-11 p.m.

Valentine's Day is history, moving on to Mardi Gras. For some folks, Mardi Gras means a one-day celebration on Fat Tuesday itself; for others, that day is just the end of a revelry period that began on thethe Epiphany. And some folks call it Carnival. Paladar Latin Kitchen & Rum Bar in Annapolis, for instance, has been wading waist-deep since Jan. 30 in a celebration they're calling Carnaval. The restaurant has been featuring menu specials inspired by street food from South American, Central America and the Caribbean   - chorizo and black bean fritters, Cuban chicken croquettes, Brazilians-style chile-spiked fudge and jibarito short rib sliders, which use flattened fried green plantains stand in for bread.

About 5,000 visitors from throughout the Baltimore-Washington area are expected for tomorrow's Maryland Jambalaya Fest at Lake Elkhorn in Columbia's Owen Brown village, an event intended to celebrate the diversity of people of African descent."

For us, the best jambalaya brings together tender chicken, spicy sausage, vegetables, rice and tomato sauce to make a hearty meal. We tried four jambalayas from area restaurants. Here are the results. BEST BITE >>>Clarence's Taste of New Orleans 2131 Old Edgewood Road, Edgewood -- 410-612-0700 Hours --11 a.m.-11 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-midnight Fridays; 4 p.m.-midnight Saturdays; 4 p.m.-11 p.m.

A bit of poetry, some rhythms and rhymes, features, fiction and finance.They're the elements of what four Columbia women call Jambalaya, a 32-page magazine featuring people of African descent in Howard County.The first issue of the free quarterly came out last week."We're trying to show you the diversity of the African community," said Pamela Woolford, 26, one of the magazine's publishers.Ms. Woolford and the three others are friends -- all in their mid-20s, all 1985 graduates of Wilde Lake High School.

Chicken-and-Sausage Jambalaya is a party dish you can make ahead. Mardi Gras may have come and gone, but that's no reason to give up the joys of jambalaya. Perfect for a party any time of year, the traditional Cajun-creole rice casserole is studded with tomatoes, green pepper, celery, onions and bite-size pieces of meat, poultry or seafood. Although rice is the key ingredient, jambalaya's melodic name may derive from the Spanish word for ham, jamon, or the French word, jambon. But there are literally as many recipes for the dish as there are cooks, and modern versions aren't shy about substituting leaner meats, including chicken and turkey sausage.

A recipe for jambalaya, using chicken, sausage and shrimp, was the request of Susan Rohleder of Amherst, N.H.Kirk Kraft of Baltimore responded with a recipe that uses ckicken stock rather than chicken. "I hope this jambalaya recipe isn't too spicy for our reader in New Hampshire," he wrote. "The habanero pepper can be eliminated."JambalayaServes 62 cups uncooked rice4 cups canned chicken stock6 slices bacon, diced1 to 1 1/4 pounds shrimp1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning1 pound Spanish sausage (chorizo)

* Item: Glory Foods Southern Selections * What you get: 5 servings * Cost: From about $4.50 to about $9 * Preparation time: 17 to 35 minutes in microwave, 35 to 65 minutes in oven * Review: Glory Foods has added a range of entrees and side dishes to its established line of Southern specialties. If you're Southern or a Southerner at heart, you'll enjoy these meals just like Mama used to make. The Macaroni and Cheese microwaved well, was flavorful and kid-friendly, if a little on the heavy side.

* Item: Zatarain's New Orleans Style Jambalaya Mix* What you get: About 6 servings* Cost: About $2* Preparation time: About 35 minutes on stove top or 30 minutes in microwave* Review: If the '80s make their predicted comeback, we'll all be sipping blush wine, listening to zydeco music and downing this Cajun rice mix. Tastes to me like Zatarain's - a New Orleans company - is using an authentic, Big Easy recipe. There's plenty of heat, so only die-hards will reach for the Tabasco. (For those DTC who don't like it hot, the box also includes a recipe for toning down the cayenne.

* Item: Perdue Entrees * What you get: 2 servings * Cost: About $3 * Preparation time: 2 to 3 minutes in microwave, 25 to 30 minutes in conventional oven * Review: Perdue's newest heat-and-serve chicken entrees are heavy on tasty, white-meat chicken. The flavors could use a little fine-tuning, however. The Jambalaya With Chicken, Sausage, Rice and Ham was overpowered by fennel. The Chicken Alfredo With Fettucine was rich and creamy, but with an odd sweetness to it. The portions seem a little off, too. If I split this for 2 servings as the label suggests, I'd definitely have to come up with a salad and another side dish to make a meal.

Chicken-and-Sausage Jambalaya is a party dish you can make ahead. Mardi Gras may have come and gone, but that's no reason to give up the joys of jambalaya. Perfect for a party any time of year, the traditional Cajun-creole rice casserole is studded with tomatoes, green pepper, celery, onions and bite-size pieces of meat, poultry or seafood. Although rice is the key ingredient, jambalaya's melodic name may derive from the Spanish word for ham, jamon, or the French word, jambon. But there are literally as many recipes for the dish as there are cooks, and modern versions aren't shy about substituting leaner meats, including chicken and turkey sausage.

It may not be grammatically correct to call a city the "most unique" in the country, but that didn't stop New Orleans from doing so - and not too many disputed it. From its food to its music, from the parties it threw to the literature it spawned, New Orleans culture was so distinct, and so influential, that Hurricane Katrina and the Pompeii-like flooding that followed - deadly as they were - couldn't erase it. The city's rich culture is safe, having...

Even before we walked into Ethel & Ramone's on a clear winter night, we wanted to love the place. What could be bad about a cozy restaurant on a pretty little street in Mount Washington, helmed by a man who trained under the legendary Paul Prudhomme? Thoughts of fried oysters and jambalaya had our mouths watering. Once inside, expectations continued to rise. From our small table by the door, we could see the open kitchen, where chefs were ladling soups, searing seafood and bopping along to the cheerful zydeco music.

* Item: Perdue Entrees * What you get: 2 servings * Cost: About $3 * Preparation time: 2 to 3 minutes in microwave, 25 to 30 minutes in conventional oven * Review: Perdue's newest heat-and-serve chicken entrees are heavy on tasty, white-meat chicken. The flavors could use a little fine-tuning, however. The Jambalaya With Chicken, Sausage, Rice and Ham was overpowered by fennel. The Chicken Alfredo With Fettucine was rich and creamy, but with an odd sweetness to it. The portions seem a little off, too. If I split this for 2 servings as the label suggests, I'd definitely have to come up with a salad and another side dish to make a meal.

* Item: Glory Foods Southern Selections * What you get: 5 servings * Cost: From about $4.50 to about $9 * Preparation time: 17 to 35 minutes in microwave, 35 to 65 minutes in oven * Review: Glory Foods has added a range of entrees and side dishes to its established line of Southern specialties. If you're Southern or a Southerner at heart, you'll enjoy these meals just like Mama used to make. The Macaroni and Cheese microwaved well, was flavorful and kid-friendly, if a little on the heavy side.

An open letter to Stephen and Michele Thalheimer, owners of the Water's Edge:When my friends and I picked up the temporary menu at your new Fells Point bar and restaurant, we saw your invitation to "let us know what you think." Thanks for asking.We ordered so much food, our waitress had to move our lighthouse candle-lamp to the next table. That made it a little dark in our corner of the brick-accented dining room, decorated simply in a maritime theme. (By the way, our smart, helpful waitress was a good hire.

Anew Cajun and Creole restaurant, Fat Lulu's, opened a couple of weeks ago at 1818 Maryland Ave. Eventually you'll be able to get dinner and a show there, but right now the management is concentrating on the kitchen, which is turning out shrimp gumbo, chicken jambalaya, Bourbon Street trout, blackened catfish with Louisiana crayfish sauce, red beans and rice with ham hocks, and crayfish pie. Entrees are priced from $9 to $16. Manager Eugene Jones promises "good...

An open letter to Stephen and Michele Thalheimer, owners of the Water's Edge:When my friends and I picked up the temporary menu at your new Fells Point bar and restaurant, we saw your invitation to "let us know what you think." Thanks for asking.We ordered so much food, our waitress had to move our lighthouse candle-lamp to the next table. That made it a little dark in our corner of the brick-accented dining room, decorated simply in a maritime theme. (By the way, our smart, helpful waitress was a good hire.

A recipe for jambalaya, using chicken, sausage and shrimp, was the request of Susan Rohleder of Amherst, N.H.Kirk Kraft of Baltimore responded with a recipe that uses ckicken stock rather than chicken. "I hope this jambalaya recipe isn't too spicy for our reader in New Hampshire," he wrote. "The habanero pepper can be eliminated."JambalayaServes 62 cups uncooked rice4 cups canned chicken stock6 slices bacon, diced1 to 1 1/4 pounds shrimp1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning1 pound Spanish sausage (chorizo)

* Item: Zatarain's New Orleans Style Jambalaya Mix* What you get: About 6 servings* Cost: About $2* Preparation time: About 35 minutes on stove top or 30 minutes in microwave* Review: If the '80s make their predicted comeback, we'll all be sipping blush wine, listening to zydeco music and downing this Cajun rice mix. Tastes to me like Zatarain's - a New Orleans company - is using an authentic, Big Easy recipe. There's plenty of heat, so only die-hards will reach for the Tabasco. (For those DTC who don't like it hot, the box also includes a recipe for toning down the cayenne.